Doomed
by DaniMoon
Summary: Nadine, a French Woman, saves Erik from the street and gives him a home. Only problem is that Nadine is best friends with Cristine. Erik learns to love the strong headed girl, but she is betrothed to Raoul's cousin. Let the chaos begin....


_I am doomed. My name is Nadine. I am the daughter of an esteemed French nobleman, betrothed to a high ranking nobleman in the favor of my father. I am 21 and I live in Paris in the year of 1879. I have done a great evil. I have fallen in love. Not with just anyone, with a murderer. He is the Phantom of the Opera. My love, Erik. I will tell you the story of my love's trials. _

**Chapter 1**

In the alleys of the city, he roamed; the infamous Phantom forced to plead for food like a common beggar. In the same streets, a young noblewoman helped the beggars, bringing them fresh bread and dried meat. The Phantom looked up and reached out his hand; expecting the horrified scream to come immediately out of the girl's mouth. She handed him a portion of the food and smiled gently at him.

She whispered, "My name is Nadine. Don't be frightened of me." Nadine drew back and walked on to the others all the while handing out food.

He stared shocked at the girl. '_Her name is Nadine._' he thought. He knew that she and Christine were the only ones who did not abhor his abnormality. '_Christine, my love._' A sigh escaped his lips. His love for Christine was overpowered by the love of the Vicomte of Changy. Some day he would have his revenge and Christine would be his love forever.

The next morning, Nadine returned, walked up to the Phantom, and knelt in front of him.

"I want to talk to you. You are new and I want learn about you and how I can help you. I personally help all of the beggars here, by getting them jobs. So what is your talent?" Nadine's chatter was bright and happy.

"Leave me alone. I am the Phantom of the Opera." Erik smiled, mirthlessly, "My talent is that I am a murderer."

Nadine drew back shocked. Disbelief shone through her face.

"No! That is impossible. The Phantom disappeared after the fire of the Opera house. You are still wanted by the police for your murders."

"Still wanted? Ha ha. What luck." The sarcasm dripped like venom out of the Phantom's mouth.

"I will help you." Nadine's eyes glazed over as her mind formulated a plan. "You will live in secret with me. Come."

"I need no pity." Erik's eyes flashed with hate and scorn.

"This is not pity. It is a helping hand to a man who needs it. Besides being in a home with me, is better than rotting out in the streets till some one catches you."

Nadine briskly stood up and began to walk out of the alley. The Phantom

watched her walk out. He covered his head with his ragged cloak and slowly followed her footsteps. He silently pondered what she would do to him. '_Would she turn me over to the police?_' Shaking his head, the Phantom erased all the doubtful thoughts that clouded his mind. He followed her out of the dim alley and saw the carriage with the crest of a rose on it. Then he climbed into awaiting carriage where Nadine was watching him with a triumphant smile.

When Nadine and the Phantom arrived at the at Nadine's mansion home, the Phantom gazed up at the mansion with wonder, the mansion was enormous and was a work of art. Nadine cheerily jumped out of the carriage.

"I hope you like it here. You will have to hide in my secret rooms, but other than that you should very much like it here. There will be no one that will know you and you will be safe. My rooms are private and completely unknown by any of my servants except for Marie, who is my warden. She is trustworthy and will not betray me for any amount of money."

Nadine looked behind her at the Phantom and beckoned him too follow her. She snuck around the back of the house through the garden and the back stairs. The garden was beautiful and contained many different types of trees and flowers. The willows hung low as to hide anyone or thing under it. The rose bushes were large and in full bloom. They were hedge-like and spread around the borders of the garden walls. The lilies and lotus blossoms in the pool were pure white and glistened with the dew of the magic of the breathtaking garden. The pool was surrounded by white marble benches for lying on or sitting. There was a ladder on one of the walls which led to a balcony. The ladder was built into the wall and was covered with vines and honeysuckle.

Nadine turned and smiled lightly at Erik, "That ladder leads to my secret rooms. You may climb up and down it to leave and come back the same way. This garden is completely mine to do as I wish. It is private and may not be viewed by anyone that does not have my voiced permission to be in."

Nadine laughed melodiously and the sound was like bells twinkling in the sky. Nadine signaled with a delicate finger placed on her rosy lips to be silent and crept to a wall of hanging vine. She drew it back and revealed a winding staircase that seemed to lead straight up into darkness. She carefully walked up the stairway by feeling her way through it. Erik followed her into the shadows, but not before glancing back at the beautiful garden and sighing in regret. Following Nadine closely, Erik made it to 'his' rooms.

The rooms were beautiful. They were a little dark and mysterious, but that suited Erik just fine. There were four rooms: a kitchen, a bedroom, a music room, and a bathroom. He was stunned at the elegance of the rooms. The music room was light yellow with a grand piano lit by candles and the walls and ceiling were covered in full-length mirrors. Pieces of music were scattered around the room, on the hard wood chairs and the tiny glass tables. He looked up to the ceiling and realized that the whole room was encased in mirrors even the floor. A lone crystal chandelier hung from a hook in the center of the ceiling. He was amazed at the craft in the room.

The kitchen adjoined the bedroom and was a simple kitchen. I t contained a plain table and an oven and stove in which one could obviously cook a meal. The walls held paintings of apples and other such fruits. They were also cream white and the paint was smooth. The furnishings in the room were mainly hard oak wood. There were windows leading into the kitchen providing a source of light. But in the closet hidden in the wall there were candles for the night. The hall leading to the bedroom was dimly lit by candles on the wall. The walls turned from cream to grey marble. He walked into the hall with Nadine following silently smiled tenderly at the amazement of the Phantom.

As his heels clicked the marble room, he thought about what he would do here at the home of the Lady Nadine. He was deep in thought when he stopped suddenly as he got to the bedroom. Nadine, surprised by his unexpected stop, tripped and grabbed at him. She managed to grab him from behind and clung on for dear life. Erik turned his face and smiled at her for the first time. He gently took her hand and held her so she would not fall again, and together they walked into the room.

The bedroom was like a cave of grey marble. The bed stood in the center of the circular room. The seashell mold of the bed was black onyx; the linen of the bedspread was dark red and was molded right into the pitted bed. There was a full length mirror in the wall to the right of the bed. A wardrobe was hidden into the wall and only opened if a small button on the side of the mirror was pushed. A small nightstand of glass stood next to the bed for any purpose that the sleeper had for it. Next to the nightstand, there was a small door made of wood but painted to resemble the texture of marble. It lead to the walk-in closet in Nadine's room. A great number of books were lined up by the walls in stacks. There was a couch in the Roman style by the end of the bed that faced the entrance to the bathroom. The entrance to the bathroom was two double doors that could be thrown open on a whim.

The bathroom was also marble, but it was white marble. In the corner of the bathroom, there was a bathtub that was big enough that two could bath in. The water sprout was gold plated. The sink and mirror was on a counter top. Roses and lotus blossoms littered the place in bouquets and rose petals were scattered across the counter top. Nadine, who was still holding Erik's hand, dragged him back to the bedroom. She reached the bed and carefully put a hand into the sheets of linen. She drew out a mask that was like the one that he had worn before.

"If you want to wear it, it's here always. It is all up to you." Nadine smiled up at the Phantom, who looked once at the mask and then back to Nadine's face that was smiling shyly up at him.

"Do you want me to wear it? Is my face horrendous enough that it disgusts you! Am I not worthy to look upon you face?" Erik's voice was cutting and bitter. His face was tight with anger. He squeezed her hand tightly in his rage and brought a look of pain onto her face.

Nadine looked up at him stunned. "No, I don't want you to wear it." Her free hand timidly reached up to cup the deformed part of his face. "Your face is not horrendous, and it does not disgust me. But, I apologize, I do not know if you are worthy to look upon my face. I think that you are more than worthy." Tears streamed down her face; her hand dropped from his face. She looked up at him and withdrew her hand from his. She turned her back on him and walked over to the couch. She stood there and held her hands up to her face and cried.

Erik looked stunned at her and touched his face where her hand had touched. He strode over to her and hugged her from behind. As she turned to look at him, he lovingly wiped away her tears and kissed the path of the tears running down her face.


End file.
